DRINKING WATER
Building Resilient Water Treatment: How Ozone Systems Help Utilities Prepare for Extreme Weather
Ozone systems build resilience into water treatment. They ensure utilities remain chemically self-sufficient, allow fast recovery from power outages, and handle rapid water quality shifts.
DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS
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![iStock-1217644297.jpg]( "Three-Dimensional ROI: Getting More Than Just Dollars From Your Smart Water Network")
Three-Dimensional ROI: Getting More Than Just Dollars From Your Smart Water NetworkWhen it comes to digital transformation via ‘smart city’ technologies for leak detection or sewer overflow prevention, utility needs inevitably overlap with the economic and infrastructure interests of other city operations. Evaluating operating efficiencies in the context of three-dimensional (3D) ROI can uncover practical ways to drive greater dividends for all concerned — utilities, society, and the environment around them.
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![communitiesbucket]( "Delivering Intelligent Connectivity To Prepare For The Next Decade")
Delivering Intelligent Connectivity To Prepare For The Next DecadeFrom aging infrastructure and coping with natural disasters, to an increased desire to incorporate renewables and optimize the network, utilities and communities continue to adapt to the macro effects in play today. Now more than ever, we have a collective opportunity to find new ways to innovate and demonstrate resiliency through technology.
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![GasLine]( "160-Year-Old Gas Line Shows Resiliency Of Iron Pipe")
160-Year-Old Gas Line Shows Resiliency Of Iron PipeA 30-inch diameter 160-year-old cast iron pipe was recently excavated and retired from gas service in Chicago, Illinois. Installed in 1859, this pipeline provided Chicago’s residents, fewer than 112,000 at the time, with reliable lighting at night. As the years passed, this cast iron pipe continued to provide dependable gas service in the tough urban environment of downtown Chicago.
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![Philippines Potable Water System Improvement Project Uses Filter Underdrain Blocks To Improve Backwash Efficiency]( "Philippines Potable Water System Improvement Project Uses Filter Underdrain Blocks To Improve Backwash Efficiency")
Philippines Potable Water System Improvement Project Uses Filter Underdrain Blocks To Improve Backwash EfficiencyFounded in 1997, the Manila Water Company (MWC) serves the potable water needs of more than five million residents of the Philippines capital and cities to the east. The company serves as the private partner in a public-private partnership with the Philippines government in operating the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System for Metro Manila’s East Zone.
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![iStock-158559513]( "Special Considerations For Extreme PFAS Sites")
Special Considerations For Extreme PFAS SitesThe best way to combat the extreme PFAS at highly contaminated environments as economically as possible is to develop a custom approach that takes every factor into account and isn’t beholden to any specific technology.
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![Harmsco Solutions For Small Community Water Supply]( "Harmsco Solutions For Small Community Water Supply")
Harmsco Solutions For Small Community Water SupplyThe Township of Shenandoah, Virginia was forced to comply with new regulations being enforced by the United States EPA concerning the removal of Cryptosporidium and Giardia Cysts from surface waters. Previously, no filtration was required.
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The Science Of Mixing And Improving Water Quality In Water Storage Tanks
Water storage tanks and reservoirs are a critical component of distribution systems, yet they can pose a significant challenge for water utilities as they often have a negative impact on water quality. Water quality problems can develop due to low turnover and/or inadequate mixing resulting in short-circuiting. While the benefits of maximizing tank turnover to minimize water age are generally understood, it is only recently that extensive research on mixing characteristics of storage tanks has been undertaken that has provided insight on what causes water quality problems and expertise in designing inlet/outlet pipe configurations, or mixing systems, to achieve complete mixing and maintain water quality.
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![DuctileIronPipe]( "The Design Decision Model® Reveals Longevity Of Ductile Iron Pipe")
The Design Decision Model® Reveals Longevity Of Ductile Iron PipeEarlier this year, Maury D. Gaston, manager of Marketing Services for AMERICAN Ductile Iron Pipe and chairman of the Alabama Iron and Steel Council, presented at the 2019 NACE Corrosion Conference on Metallized Arc-Sprayed Zinc Coated Ductile Iron Pipe.
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City Of San Diego Water Plant Switches From Chlorine Gas To On-Site Hypochlorite Generation To Reduce Risks, Improve Safety And Decrease Costs
With virtually no local water sources available for use, the City of San Diego relies on water from the Metropolitan Water District, which imports its water from the Colorado River and the California State Water Project. The two massive water projects bring water from other watersheds and regions hundreds of miles to the north and east.
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![LakeTech]( "Knowing The Biology Of This 88-Acre Lagoon Helped Design The Right Aeration System")
Knowing The Biology Of This 88-Acre Lagoon Helped Design The Right Aeration SystemRead about a project that aimed to increase dissolved oxygen concentrations of an 88-surface acre coastal lagoon community.
DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES
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Pikeville, Kentucky Medical Center Leak Found Despite Ambient Noise6/23/2021
Leaks found in 60 psi high density PE pipe by FELL in less than three hours. Acoustic and CCTV failed to find any leaks after more than a year of investigation. Read the full case study to learn more.
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Why Should We Care About NSF/ANSI 61 Certification?3/17/2021
According to National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), it's a set of standards relating to water treatment and establishes criteria for the control of equipment that comes in contact with either potable water or products that support the production of water.
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Ultrapure Water For Determination of Toxic Elements In Environmental Analyses4/10/2018
In this paper the importance of reagent water quality for toxic element environmental analyses is discussed, and the suitability of fresh ultrapure water produced using MilliporeSigma water purification systems for ICP-OES and ICP-MS trace element analyses in environmental laboratories is demonstrated.
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Harmonics Reduction Methods4/17/2017
There are several basic methods for reducing harmonic voltage and current distortion from nonlinear distribution loads such as adjustable frequency drives (AFDs). Following is a description of each method, along with each method’s advantages and disadvantages.
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Real-Time Conductivity Monitoring Estimates Chloride Levels In Minnesota Watershed By Using The Aqua TROLL 20011/18/2011Monitoring deicing chemical levels can help researchers, city governments, and regulatory agencies understand runoff impacts on surface water, groundwater, and surrounding environments.
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A New Way Of Designing With Reverse Osmosis Membranes7/23/2015
Process design in water treatment is historically confined to proprietary or user-defined spreadsheets on a unit operation basis, with users manually adding results from each unit process upstream into the next operation.
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Optimization Of Water Treatment Using Zeta Potential5/27/2020
Drinking water in the US and developed nations of the world is treated to remove contamination of foreign materials, both mineral and organic.
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Best Practices In Moist And Wet Gas Flow12/20/2021
The Wet Gas MASSter sensor is for use in applications that have a high level of moisture or condensation present in the gas flow stream that cannot otherwise be removed.
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Scrubber Application1/27/2022
This customer supplies district heating and electricity for the region of Sønderborg. For one of their waste applications a MAG meter failed within 6 months, and was successfully replaced with a Panametrics Aquatrans AT600.
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Cloth Media Filtration Removes Coal Ash And Coal Fines At Power Plants1/15/2019
Coal-fired power plants generate coal fines and coal ash from a number of sources, including coal combustion residuals (CCR), particularly fly and bottom ash from coal furnaces, and coal pile runoff during rain events. In support of an industry-wide effort to reduce, improve, and remove coal ash ponds, a variety of technologies have been tested and employed. Read the full application note to learn more.
DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS
The AMI SAC254 is an online monitor for continuous measurements of UV-absorption (a surrogate parameter, which is correlated to various carbon-based parameters such as DOC and TOC) at a wavelength of 254nm.
The OPTIFLUX 4100 is an electromagnetic flowmeter (EMF) for a wide range of standard process applications with aggressive and abrasive liquids. It enables reliable flow measurement even under harsh process conditions with temperatures up to +180°C / +356°F, low conductivity (≥5 µS/cm) and solid content (up to 10%). This makes the flowmeter particularly suitable for applications involving corrosive chemicals, sewage and drilling mud or mining sludge. Installation in measurement chambers subject to (constant) flooding is also possible using the optional IP68 / NEMA 6P rated version.
Blue-White’s Polysulfone Flow Meters have durable meter bodies with excellent heat and chemical resistance. Units for use in UltraPure environments are available.
Aclara’s water pressure monitoring solution leverages industry-leading Aclara RF network to provide near real-time monitoring of water pressure throughout your distribution network.
The Aquana AVS AMI-Ready Valve is an IP68 rated remote disconnect ball valve designed to integrate with any existing AMI platform.
The DR6000™ is the industry’s most advanced laboratory spectrophotometer for water testing. It offers high-speed wavelength scanning across the UV and Visible Spectrum, and comes with over 250 pre-programmed methods including the most common water and environmental testing methods used today.
LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER
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![clean, safe water with AI-GettyImages-1314144773]( "Collaborating To Execute The AI-Water Nexus")
Amazon and Xylem partner to tackle Mexico’s leaking water systems as the country balances water scarcity and a growing tech sector.
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![hands holding water drop-GettyImages-1412243977]( "Reshaping Resilience: How Tech Giants And Utilities Are Confronting The Global Water Crisis")
Water scarcity is increasingly impacting sectors from agriculture and energy to urban planning and high-tech manufacturing. Recently, industry leaders gathered to explore how new technologies and complex industrial demands are forcing a fundamental rethinking of water infrastructure.
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![GettyImages-2218879973]( "When Chemistry Meets Water Innovation")
Nobel-winning molecular materials are poised to reinvent purification, desalination, and reuse.
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![Water purification-GettyImages-1142887870]( "Breakthrough Recyclable Polyimide Membranes Transform Wastewater And High-Salinity Water Treatment")
Researchers have developed polyimide-based membranes for membrane distillation (MD) that overcome three persistent issues in membranes for water treatment and gas separations: the need for pore-forming chemicals that prevent recycling, performance degradation due to pore wetting and fouling, and the inherent trade-off between high water flux and selectivity.
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![Macro drop falling-GettyImages-2154270541]( "Cut Costs, Cut Timelines: Rethink Your Next Water Project")
Small municipalities and industrial sites face constant pressure: deliver safe, stable water with limited resources and tight deadlines. Traditional on-site construction can stretch project schedules by months and introduce quality and cost risks. By shifting much of the fabrication off-site, these risks are dramatically reduced.
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![GettyImages-2213749043]( "How Digital Payments Infrastructure Increases Hurricane Preparedness")
The 2024 hurricane season was one of the most severe on record, creating unprecedented destruction to the tune of $182.7 billion worth of damage. Scientists predict that this year's storm season, which officially began June 1, will likely be highly active and volatile as well. As hurricanes become more difficult to accurately predict and prepare for, the damage caused by burst pipes, flooding, downed trees and debris, and disrupted utilities is also increasing.
DRINKING WATER VIDEOS
RIP Kitty Hach-Darrow (October 20, 1922 - June 4, 2020), co-founder of Hach Company
V-Bio Polyethylene Encasement is the latest scientific advancement in corrosion control for ductile iron pipe. In this interview with Water Online, Maury Gaston of American Ductile Iron Pipe and American SpiralWeld Pipe talks about the many benefits of iron pipe and the company’s improved polyethylene encasement, including how its revolutionary formulation allows for complete confidence on the part of the owner, engineer and municipality that no matter how aggressive the soils, the rugged iron pipe installed will last for generations.
ABOUT DRINKING WATER
In most developed countries, drinking water is regulated to ensure that it meets drinking water quality standards. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers these standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
Drinking water considerations can be divided into three core areas of concern:
- Source water for a community’s drinking water supply
- Drinking water treatment of source water
- Distribution of treated drinking water to consumers
Drinking Water Sources
Source water access is imperative to human survival. Sources may include groundwater from aquifers, surface water from rivers and streams and seawater through a desalination process. Direct or indirect water reuse is also growing in popularity in communities with limited access to sources of traditional surface or groundwater.
Source water scarcity is a growing concern as populations grow and move to warmer, less aqueous climates; climatic changes take place and industrial and agricultural processes compete with the public’s need for water. The scarcity of water supply and water conservation are major focuses of the American Water Works Association.
Drinking Water Treatment
Drinking Water Treatment involves the removal of pathogens and other contaminants from source water in order to make it safe for humans to consume. Treatment of public drinking water is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Common examples of contaminants that need to be treated and removed from water before it is considered potable are microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides.
There are a variety of technologies and processes that can be used for contaminant removal and the removal of pathogens to decontaminate or treat water in a drinking water treatment plant before the clean water is pumped into the water distribution system for consumption.
The first stage in treating drinking water is often called pretreatment and involves screens to remove large debris and objects from the water supply. Aeration can also be used in the pretreatment phase. By mixing air and water, unwanted gases and minerals are removed and the water improves in color, taste and odor.
The second stage in the drinking water treatment process involves coagulation and flocculation. A coagulating agent is added to the water which causes suspended particles to stick together into clumps of material called floc. In sedimentation basins, the heavier floc separates from the water supply and sinks to form sludge, allowing the less turbid water to continue through the process.
During the filtration stage, smaller particles not removed by flocculation are removed from the treated water by running the water through a series of filters. Filter media can include sand, granulated carbon or manufactured membranes. Filtration using reverse osmosis membranes is a critical component of removing salt particles where desalination is being used to treat brackish water or seawater into drinking water.
Following filtration, the water is disinfected to kill or disable any microbes or viruses that could make the consumer sick. The most traditional disinfection method for treating drinking water uses chlorine or chloramines. However, new drinking water disinfection methods are constantly coming to market. Two disinfection methods that have been gaining traction use ozone and ultra-violet (UV) light to disinfect the water supply.
Drinking Water Distribution
Drinking water distribution involves the management of flow of the treated water to the consumer. By some estimates, up to 30% of treated water fails to reach the consumer. This water, often called non-revenue water, escapes from the distribution system through leaks in pipelines and joints, and in extreme cases through water main breaks.
A public water authority manages drinking water distribution through a network of pipes, pumps and valves and monitors that flow using flow, level and pressure measurement sensors and equipment.
Water meters and metering systems such as automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) allows a water utility to assess a consumer’s water use and charge them for the correct amount of water they have consumed.